“This project investigates the future of artworks for which 35 mm slides form an artistic medium and explores the implications of the discontinuation of analogue slide film and related technologies for the preservation and display of these works of art.

While 35 mm slide transparencies are a medium in their own right, they are also an interesting hybrid, lying between still photography and motion picture technology. The use of 35 mm slides became commonplace in the 1960s; they were used to present images everywhere from the classroom to corporate and domestic environments. However, from the late 1990s onwards this medium has slowly been replaced by digital images, with the term ‘slide’ acting as a metaphor within presentation software packages such as Powerpoint.

Since the 1960s, a number of contemporary artists have adopted 35 mm slides for use as an artistic medium – attracted to them either because the technology was readily available, or because of their specific aesthetic qualities. Many artists also valued the sculptural aspects of the visible apparatus, and the impact this has on the experience of the work. In addition, a carousel slide projector creates a unique soundscape, with the whirr of the fan and the click of the motor as the carousel rotates and alternates the slides. Among the artists associated strongly with 35 mm slides are James Coleman, Francis Alÿs, Hilary Lloyd, Lothar Baumgarten and Nan Goldin.”